The French Open singles finals unsurprisingly sank from last year, but the Nadal-Djokovic final held up relatively well. Plus: NFL competition hurt the Women’s PGA Championship, and 609,000 viewers were undeterred by the postponement of Thursday Night Football.
French Open finals down, but Nadal-Djokovic holds up well
French Open coverage featuring the Rafael Nadal-Novak Djokovic men’s final averaged a 1.0 rating and 1.58 million viewers on NBC, down 17% in ratings and 11% in viewership from last year (1.2, 1.79M) and down a tick and 2% respectively from 2018 (1.1, 1.62M). Ratings and viewership came in ahead of last month’s five-set US Open men’s final on ESPN (Dominic Thiem-Alexander Zverev: 0.9, 1.48M) despite Nadal’s three-set thrashing of Djokovic.
Pending adjustments, viewership ranks as the lowest on record for the French Open men’s final. The previous low was 1.583 million in 2017. Keep in mind that Nielsen viewership tends to adjust upward from the “final” nationals, so it is likely that this year’s audience of 1.582 million will eventually surpass 2017.
The previous day, coverage featuring the Iga Świątek-Sofia Kenin women’s final averaged a 0.53 and 763,000 — easily the lowest on record for any French Open final. Ratings fell 28% and viewership 26% from the previous lows set by last year’s women’s final.
The French Open was originally scheduled to run from May 24 to June 7 but was pushed back to September 27-October 11.
Women’s PGA Championship dips opposite NFL
Final round coverage of the Women’s PGA Championship, the third of this season’s four LPGA Tour majors, averaged a 0.44 rating and 643,000 viewers on NBC last Sunday — down 16% in ratings and 10% in viewership from last year (0.51, 718K), but flat and up 2% respectively from 2018 (0.44, 630K). The tournament, which was originally scheduled for late June, did not face the NFL in previous years.
Third round coverage on Saturday averaged a 0.30 (-21%) and 447,000 (-12%).
Searching for Thursday Night Football, 609,000 watch re-air on NFL Network
Airing in place of Thursday Night Football, a rebroadcast of last Sunday’s Raiders-Chiefs NFL game averaged 609,000 viewers on NFL Network — the network’s most-watched re-air since last December (Rams-Cowboys: 769K). Not coincidentally, last year’s telecast aired on an in-season Thursday with no TNF game.
The re-air came close to ESPN’s live college football game between Georgia State and Arkansas State (698K).
